Getty Image / Allen Berezovsky
Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul has spent 18 seasons in the NBA after leaving Wake Forest in North Carolina.
Chris Paul has earned a fortune for his contributions on the court. The 12-time NBA All-Star has career earnings of $359,109,419 but until now, he didn’t have a college diploma.
On Friday, Chris Paul is at Winston-Salem State to finally graduate from college after earning his diploma. For context, Paul was playing against the Clippers on Thursday night and had 15 points in 36 minutes with 7 rebounds and 13 assists. Then he hopped on a plane and flew across the country to graduate from college early Friday morning.
ESPN’s Marc J. Spears was at the Winstom-Salem State graduation and shared photos of Chris Paul posing with his fellow graduates and the shoes he chose for graduation. It was also revealed that Chris Paul was giving every one of his fellow graduates $2,500!
After beating the Clippers in LA last night, Suns guard Chris Paul is getting ready to graduate from Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina this morning. @andscape pic.twitter.com/pjQpzFg1w0
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 16, 2022
For my shoe folks, @cp3 wearing custom Winston-Salem State University Jordan 1 lows at his college graduation. pic.twitter.com/XgfaMWVN7O
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 16, 2022
Chris Paul is giving every fellow graduate $2,500
This is an incredible graduation gift to what amounts to a group of strangers:
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul is gifting every Winston-Salem State University graduate $2,500. Paul is also graduating from WSSU today. pic.twitter.com/KylzikCOHp
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 16, 2022
The money is a meaningful gesture from Paul but it won’t put a dent in his bank account. Chris is earning $28,400,000 this season and stands to earn $30 million in each of the next two seasons. He is a very, very wealthy man.
Spears later clarified the nature of the $2,500/student:
Here is more detail: Chris Paul is helping each WSSU graduate fund their Greenwood account by depositing $100 in the account and covering the $200 per month membership for ELEVATE for a full year. In total, this is a $2,500 value for each WSU December 2022 graduate.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 16, 2022
His tweet reads “Here is more detail: Chris Paul is helping each WSSU graduate fund their Greenwood account by depositing $100 in the account and covering the $200 per month membership for ELEVATE for a full year. In total, this is a $2,500 value for each WSU December 2022 graduate.”
Chris Paul is from the Winston-Salem area and though he played college basketball for Wake Forest his ties to HBCU Winston-Salem State run deep. HBCU Gameday reports both of Chris Paul’s parents went to WSSU.
Paul held a charity basketball game at WSSU back in 2012 during the NBA lockout and got LeBron James to join him:
On Friday, Stephen A. Smith congratulated CP3 with ‘major major props’ on his graduation. Stephen A. Smith is a proud Winston-Salem State graduate himself:
Here is a full video of the 2022 Winston-Salem State University Fall Commencement featuring Cp3 getting his diploma: